Photo by Aditya Bose on Pexels
After the final seconds of overtime ticked down in this year’s Super Bowl, fans around the world cheered on the picture-perfect romantic movie celebration of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Oh wait, for all the non-Swifties out there, fans cheered on the celebration of the triumphant Kansas City Chiefs (or they drowned their sorrows at the tragedy of the San Francisco 49ers loss).
Oh, who are we kidding? Everyone was watching as Tayvis hugged and kissed on the confetti-strewn field, and the NFL enthusiastically shared audio and captions that had Kelce asking an adoring Swift: “How are you not jet-lagged right now?”
Her succinct response?
It was a great question since just a day earlier, people were melting their brains trying to figure out if Swift, who had an Eras Tour date in Tokyo on the Friday before the Super Bowl, would be able to make it across the thousands of miles (and the many hours of time difference) in time to make the big game.
It’s also a question that’s at the top of my mind right now. I just flew in from a week-long vacation to California from Boston. California is three hours behind Boston, so right now, my body most likely thinks that it’s almost five p.m. instead of eight p.m.
Sadly, while it would be lovely to think that you can simply choose to not be jet lagged, sleep experts have outlined all of the ways that this disruption in our circadian rhythms can make us tired and super awake at all of the wrong times.
I didn’t do many of the tips that that health enews article lists to help you combat jet lag. I had a pretty large meal and a couple of cocktails in my meal the evening before my trip. I never got a very good night’s sleep because I’m always anxious before flights. And I didn’t avoid naps during my trip back.
Still, the worst that I feel right now is tired but also a bit fuzzy. A three-hour time difference isn’t something that feels too bad on my body. Now, the time that we traveled to Australia was a very different story. Trying to explore a new city that is sixteen hours ahead of you is a very different ball game all together. I still remember my poor baby girl falling asleep into a plate of spaghetti as she struggled to stay awake for dinner and our entire family waking up at four a.m., starving and ready for breakfast.
If you’d like to combat jetlag when you’re heading to your next faraway destination, try not to rely on just choice and follow these tips from the Mayo Clinic:
Try to arrive at your destination early to give yourself time to adjust.
Rest up before your trip.
If the time difference is very big, try slowly adjusting to the new schedule days before the trip.
Use light exposure to help you adjust.
Don’t think about the old time zone and adjust your watch so you can hit the ground running on your new schedule.
Drink lots of water.
And try to sleep on the plane ride over if you’re going to land at night.
It’s certainly a choice not to follow any of those tips, a choice that I’m currently kicking myself right now over.
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